cliff. i'm not going to use that term any more because we're actually not on a cliff. what we are on is a set of important deadlines that we should meet and we should work at, but this imagery of a cliff of falling over something and plummeting downward is false and we should stop using this analogy. i know the press likes it because it adds drama, and, of course, the press thrives on drama, but in truth there are some important deadlines we should meet but that we should not surrender our deeply held views simply to get any deal done. any deal done, the deal we should do should be a fair deal. it should be a deal for all. it should be a deal that meets our most important priorities, but it should not be some force-fed thing that we accept simply because we fear going over this cliff that really doesn't exist. you could refer to it as a set of deadlines, that's the best way to put it. that's what it actually is. if you don't meet a deadline, yes, of course, there are consequences not meeting